Semiconductor Device

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device including a semiconductor substrate having a first surface and a second surface, the first surface being configured for formation of a semiconductor element; a through hole extending through the semiconductor substrate; and a through electrode disposed in the through hole. The through electrode includes an insulating film disposed along a sidewall of the through hole, a conductive layer comprising a first material disposed along the insulating film, and an electrode layer comprising a second material filled inside the through hole over the conductive layer. The first material is softer than the second material. The second material has a melting point higher than a melting point of the first material. The electrode layer includes a void portion being closed near the second surface of the semiconductor substrate.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-052125, filed on, Mar. 14, 2014 the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to a semiconductor device.

BACKGROUND

A through electrode, one example of which is a TSV (through silicon via), typically comprises a via filled with metal extending through a semiconductor substrate. Some types of metal filling the via may produce internal stress within the through electrode which may in turn stress the semiconductor substrate. This may lead to formation of via cracks, malfunctioning of elements disposed near the through electrode, etc.

It is thus, being proposed to relax the internal stress produced within the via during the formation of the through electrode by pattern layout arrangements, structural arrangements, etc. For example, copper (Cu) employed as the through electrode may be shaped like a hollow pipe to achieve stress relaxation. However, because copper is migration-prone, such structure may have reliability issues originating from electro-migration. Further, the through electrode, being shaped like a pipe, has an upper opening and thus, may allow upper wirings for example formed thereabove to collapse into the opening.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is one example of a vertical cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a first embodiment.

FIGS. 2A to 2I are examples of vertical cross-sectional views schematically illustrating one phase of a manufacturing process flow.

FIG. 3 is one example of a vertical cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is one example of a vertical cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a third embodiment.

FIG. 5 is one example of a vertical cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a fourth embodiment.

DESCRIPTION

In one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate having a first surface and a second surface, the first surface being configured for formation of a semiconductor element; a through hole extending through the semiconductor substrate; and a through electrode disposed in the through hole. The through electrode includes an insulating film disposed along a sidewall of the through hole, a conductive layer comprising a first material disposed along the insulating film, and an electrode layer comprising a second material filled inside the through hole over the conductive layer. The first material is softer than the second material. The second material has a melting point higher than a melting point of the first material. The electrode layer includes a void portion being closed near the second surface of the semiconductor substrate.

Embodiments are described hereinafter with references to the accompanying drawings. The drawings are not drawn to scale and thus, do not reflect the actual measurements of the features such as the correlation of thickness to planar dimensions and the ratio of thicknesses of each of the layers. Further, directional terms such as up, down, lower, left, and right are used in a relative context with an assumption that the surface, on which circuitry is formed, of the later described, semiconductor substrate faces up or down. Thus, the directional terms do not necessarily correspond to the directions based on gravitational acceleration.

FIRST EMBODIMENT

A description is given hereinafter on a first embodiment with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a vertical cross-sectional surface of semiconductor device 1 having a through electrode. Referring to FIG. 1, semiconductor device 1 is provided with silicon substrate 2 serving as a semiconductor substrate. In a first surface, located in the under surface side of silicon substrate 2, as viewed in FIG. 1, semiconductor element 3 is formed. After forming semiconductor element 3, silicon substrate 2 is thinned to a thickness ranging from 20 μm to 40 μm for example.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, semiconductor element 3 is provided, for example, with impurity regions 2 a and 2 b formed in semiconductor substrate 2. Impurity regions 2 a and 2 b are each doped with p-conductivity type or n-conductivity type impurities of a predetermined concentration to become either a p-type impurity region or an n-type impurity region. The structure of semiconductor element 3 illustrated in FIG. 1 is merely an example and thus, it is possible to employ one or more semiconductor elements 3 having various structures. One such example is semiconductor element 3 including a gate electrode in the first surface side of silicon substrate 2. In the first embodiment, semiconductor element 3 including impurity regions 2 a and 2 b serves as an example for simplicity.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, insulating film 4 is formed along the first surface of silicon substrate 2 so as to cover the first surface. Openings 4 a are formed through insulating film 4 where contacts are to be established. Further, openings 4 b are formed through insulating film 4 where through electrodes 11 are to be formed. Along the surface of insulating film 4, wiring patterns 5 are formed so as to establish contact between impurity regions 2 a and 2 b of semiconductor element 3 and other components. Wiring pattern 5 may be formed of materials such as a nickel silicide (NiSi) or tungsten (W). Insulating film 4 may be formed of a silicon oxide film for example. The surfaces of wiring pattern 5 and insulating film 4 are covered by a stack of interlayer insulating films 6 and 7. Interlayer insulating films 6 and 7 may be formed of a silicon oxide film for example. Via holes filled with via plugs 8 are formed through interlayer insulating films 6 and 7. Bump 9 is formed along the surface portion of via plug 8.

Still referring to FIG. 1, through holes 2 c extend through silicon substrate 2 in regions where semiconductor element 3 is not formed. As illustrated in FIG. 1, through hole 2 c extends from the first surface side to the second surface side in the opposite side of the first surface side. In the first surface side of silicon substrate 2, wiring patterns 5 are exposed in the portion where openings 4 b are formed through insulating film 4. Along the second surface of silicon substrate 2 as well as the sidewall of through hole 2 c extending through silicon substrate 2, barrier insulating film 10 is formed so as to cover the second surface and the sidewall. Barrier insulating film 10 may comprise a silicon oxide film. Barrier insulating film 10 is formed so that the portion extending along the sidewall portion of through hole 2 c is relatively thicker than the portion extending along the second surface. Through hole 2 c being lined by barrier insulating film 10 is configured to have an inner diameter of approximately 10 μm for example exclusive of the thickness of barrier insulating film 10.

Inside through hole 2 c, through electrode 11, configured as a TSV, is formed in the inner peripheral side of barrier insulating film 10. Through electrode 11 is provided for establishing electrical connection with wiring pattern 5 formed in the first surface side of silicon substrate 2.

In the first embodiment, through electrode 11, comprises conductive layer 11 a and nickel (Ni) layer 11 b. Conductive layer 11 a is formed along barrier insulating film 10 and wiring pattern 5 so as to contact barrier insulating film 10 and wiring pattern 5. In the first embodiment, conductive layer 11 a is formed of for example a barrier metal film and a seed metal film. One example of the barrier metal film is a titanium (Ti) film. One example of the seed metal film is copper (Cu) film. The thickness of conductive layer 11 a may range from 3 nm to 200 nm for example. As illustrated in FIG. 1, conductive layer 11 a extending along barrier insulating film 10 in the up and down direction further extends toward the second surface side from opening 10 a of barrier insulating film 10.

In the inner side of conductive layer 11 a, nickel layer 11 b is filled to serve as an electrode layer. Nickel layer 11 b is filled so as to protrude upward along and above opening 10 a of barrier insulating film 10. Nickel layer 11 b is formed to fill through hole 2 c, however, void 11 c is formed in through hole 2 c as illustrated for example in FIG. 1. As will be later described, void 11 c is formed during conformal formation of nickel layer 11 b as deposition occurs increasingly near the opening in the upper portion of through hole 2 c, and thereby encloses through hole 2 c before filling its interior.

Above the upper surface of nickel layer 11 b, located in the portion of through electrode 11 protruding from the second surface side of silicon substrate 2, bump 12 is formed. Bump 12 comprises copper (Cu) film 12 a and tin (Sn) film 12 b. As a result, through electrode 11 extends through silicon substrate 2 from the second, surface side to establish electric contact with wiring pattern 5 in the first surface side.

In the first embodiment described above, through, electrode 11 is formed through silicon substrate 2. Through electrode 11 includes a seed metal film comprising a copper film and nickel layer 11 b formed in the inner side of the seed metal film, and void 11 c is formed in nickel layer 11 b. Through electrode 11 primarily comprises nickel (Ni) which has a melting point (melting point of 1300 degrees Celsius or higher) higher than the melting point (melting point of 1100 degrees Celsius or less) of copper. As a result, it is possible to suppress migration. It is further possible to relax internal stress by providing void 11 c inside nickel layer 11 b and thereby provide a reliable through electrode 11. Further, it possible to achieve stress relaxation of nickel layer 11 b by providing conductive layer 11 a.

Next, a description will be given on one example of a manufacturing process flow of the above described structure with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2I. FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate process steps for processing the first surface side of silicon substrate 2 and thus, their orientations differ from FIG. 1 by 180 degrees, meaning that substrate 2 is turned up side down. Referring first to FIG. 2A, components of semiconductor element 3 such as impurity regions 2 a and 2 b are formed in and/or above the upper surface of the first surface side of silicon substrate 2. As described earlier, semiconductor element 3 may further comprise gate electrodes formed above the first surface of silicon substrate 2.

Then, insulating film 4 is formed above the first surface of silicon substrate 2. Insulating film 4 may be formed of a silicon oxide film for example. Openings 4 a and 4 b are formed in predetermined regions of insulating film 4 by lithography. Opening 4 a of insulating film 4 serves as a contact region for allowing connection to the terminals of semiconductor element 3. Opening 4 b serves as a pattern region for allowing connection to through electrode 11. Next, wiring pattern 5 processed into a predetermined, pattern is formed above the upper surface of insulating film 4. Wiring pattern 5 is formed by forming a metal film above the entire surface and etching the metal film into a predetermined pattern by lithography. Wiring pattern 5 establishes electric connection with the elements formed in the first surface of silicon substrate 2 through, openings 4 a and 4 b of insulating film 4. Connections between the terminals of semiconductor element 3, as well as connections to patterns for accessing external components are established through wiring pattern 5.

Next, interlayer insulating film 6 is formed above the upper surfaces of wiring pattern 5 and insulating film 4, Interlayer insulating film 6 comprises for example a silicon oxide film. Then, a via is formed so as to extend in the up and down direction through interlayer insulating film 6 and is filled with a plug to obtain via plug 8 connecting to wiring pattern 5. Thereafter, insulating film 7 used for forming a bump is formed above the upper surface of insulating film 6. An opening is formed through insulating film 7 where the bump is to be formed. The opening is filled with a metal plug, used in filling via plug 8 extending through insulating film 6, in order to form via plug 8 used for forming the bump.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 2B, bump 9 is partially formed for establishing connection with via plug 8. Next, adhesive layer 13 is formed above insulating film 7 and bump 9 exposed in the first surface side of silicon substrate 2. Then, glass substrate 14 is adhered to adhesive layer 13. Glass substrate 14 serves as a supporting member when silicon substrate 2 is thinned by polishing.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 2C, silicon substrate 2 is polished from the under surface in the second surface side. In FIG. 2C and figures after FIG. 2C, the second surface side of silicon substrate 2 faces up as was the case in FIG. 1 for describing the formation of through electrode 11. The polish process is performed so that the post-polish thickness of silicon substrate 2 has a predetermined thickness ranging from 20 μm to 40 μm for example. The thickness of silicon, substrate 2 is specified based on the thickness required in packaging the diced chips.

Next, resist is formed above the under surface in the second surface side of silicon substrate 2. The resist is thereafter patterned by lithography to form openings for forming through hole 2 c. Then, using the resist pattern as a mask, silicon substrate 2 is dry etched from the second surface side to the first surface side. The etching is stopped when wiring pattern 5 in the first surface side of silicon substrate 2 is exposed to thereby form through hole 2 c.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 2D, barrier insulating film 10 is formed along the second surface of silicon substrate 2 and along the walls of through hole 2 c. Barrier insulating film 10 may be formed of a silicon oxide film for example. Barrier insulating film 10 is initially formed in substantially the same thickness along the second surface of silicon substrate 2 and along the sidewall of through hole 2 c. Barrier insulating film 10 formed along the bottom surface of through hole 2 c, however, is slightly thinner because the hole is deep. Then, barrier insulating film 10 is removed from the bottom surface of through hole 2 c by anisotropic etching. When the etch back is stopped after the relatively thin barrier insulating film 10 along the bottom surface of through hole 2 c is removed, the relatively thick barrier insulating film 10 along the second surface of silicon substrate 2 remains though may be slightly thinned. Further, barrier insulating film 10 formed along the sidewall of through hole 2 c remains substantially unetched since this portion of barrier insulating film 10 is oriented substantially in the vertical direction. As a result, barrier insulating film 10 is formed above the second surface of silicon substrate 2 and along the sidewall of through hole 2 c, while being removed from the bottom surface portion of through hole 2 c to expose wiring pattern 5.

As illustrated in FIG. 2E, conductive layer 11 a of through electrode 11 is formed so as to cover the upper surfaces of barrier insulating film 10 and wiring pattern 5 serving as the bottom, surface of through hole 2 c. Formation of conductive layer 11 a begins by forming a barrier metal film by sputtering for example followed by formation of a seed metal film. In one embodiment, titanium film is used as the barrier metal film and copper film is used as the seed metal film (Ti/Cu).

Copper used in forming the seed metal film may be formed of materials other than copper such as a nonmagnetic material. In one embodiment, the seed metal film is formed in a thickness ranging from 3 to 200 nm. The thickness of the seed metal film. however, may be greater than the range of 3 to 200 nm. The barrier metal film may be omitted in case barrier insulating film 10 in through hole 2 c exhibits good adhesiveness.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 2F, resist film 15 is formed and patterned by lithography. Resist film 15 has opening 15 a for forming through electrode 11. Opening 15 a of resist film 15 exposes conductive layer 11 a located in through hole 2 c and a part of conductive layer 11 a located above the second surface of silicon substrate 2.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 2G, nickel layer 11 b is formed by plating using the patterned resist film 15 as a mask. More specifically, a nickel film is formed selectively and conformally along conductive layer 11 a exposed by opening 15 a of resist film 15. Nickel film is formed conformally using high-density electric current and thus forms differently from and faster than a bottom-up approach.

The nickel film forms substantially in the same thickness along conductive layer 11 a. However, the nickel film forms at a relatively higher rate locally near the top opening of through hole 2 c in the second surface side and thus, tends to close the opening before filling the interior of through hole 2 c. As a result, nickel layer 11 b is closed in the upper portion of through hole 2 c while leaving void 11 c in through hole 2 c. The plating is continued until nickel layer 11 b reaches a predetermined height within opening 15 a of resist film 15.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 2H, bump 12 is formed above the upper portion of through electrode 11. Formation of bump 12 begins with plating of copper (Cu) film 12 a followed by plating of tin (Sn) film 12 b. As illustrated in FIG. 2H, tin film 12 b is slightly bulged.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 2I, resist film 15 is stripped and the exposed conductive film 11 a is removed by etching. In one embodiment, conductive film 11 a is removed by wet etching. Thereafter, bump 12 is finished by reflow.

Next, the wafer is diced into chips and adhesive layer 13 is melted to remove glass substrate 14. Semiconductor device 1 provided with through electrode 11 is obtained by the above described process flow.

In the above described process flow, nickel layer 11 b is formed conformally into through hole 2 c by plating without having to take the bottom-up approach. Thus, it is possible to form nickel layer 11 b in a shorter time period as compared to the bottom-up approach.

In the first embodiment described above, nickel having a higher melting point compared to copper is used as the primary material for forming through electrode 11. In through electrode 11 configured as described above, it is possible to suppress negative impacts originating from internal stress while inhibiting degradation of electromigration resistivity. Further, through electrode 11 is formed, primarily of metal in the form of a conformal nickel layer 11 b formed by plating. Thus, it is possible to form through electrode 11 in a shorter time period as compared to a bottom-up approach while enabling the formation of void 11 c.

In addition to the provision of nickel layer 11 b which is not migration prone even in the presence of void 11 c therein, through electrode 11 is further provided with conductive layer 11 a including a copper film which is disposed in the outer side of nickel layer 11 b. Metals with high melting points generally have high Young's Modulus. For example, Young's modulus of nickel is approximately 200 GPa while Young's modulus of copper is approximately 110 GPa. Thus, it is possible to absorb the internal stress developed in nickel layer 11 b by conductive layer 11 a which employs materials having lower Young's modulus than and thereby softer than nickel. As a result, it has been found that the internal stress inflicted on silicon substrate 2 by through electrode 11 can be reduced to approximately 12 as compared to when nickel is used alone.

Further, void 11 c of nickel layer 11 b is configured to be closed near the second surface of silicon substrate 2. Thus, it is possible to form nickel layer 11 b in sufficient thickness to allow formation of a bump structure in the upper portion of through electrode 11. As a result, bump 12 can be formed easily without allowing intrusion of metal into void 11 c of nickel layer 11 b.

SECOND EMBODIMENT

FIG. 3 illustrates semiconductor device 16 of a second embodiment. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that semiconductor device 16 is provided with through electrode 17 instead of through electrode 11. In the first embodiment, nickel layer 11 b including void 11 c was employed to achieve stress relaxation, and inhibit migration. Nickel (Ni) of nickel layer 11 b, being a magnetic material, may become subjected to a skin effect in which smooth electric current flow through electrode 11 is inhibited when semiconductor device 1 is operating under high frequency. As a result, electric current flows mostly in the surface layer portion and less in the central portion of through electrode 11, thereby increasing the resistance as a whole.

In the second embodiment, conductive layer 17 a is provided in through electrode 17 in order to inhibit elevation of resistance caused by the skin effect observed when a magnetic material, nickel layer 17 b in this case, is used as through electrode 17 when semiconductor device 16 is used under high frequencies.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, conductive layer 17 a is formed of for example a barrier metal film and a seed metal film. One example of the barrier metal film is a titanium (Ti) film. One example of the seed metal film, is a copper (Cu) film. Conductive layer 17 a of the second embodiment is thicker than conductive layer 11 a of the first embodiment considering the thickness of conductive layer 17 a occupied by skin effect current. In the second embodiment, the thickness of the copper film is configured to 200 nm or greater for example. As illustrated in FIG. 3, conductive layer 17 a extending along barrier insulating film 10 in the up and down direction further extends toward the second surface side from opening 10 a of barrier insulating film 10.

In the inner side of conductive layer 17 a, nickel layer 17 b is filled so as to protrude upward along and above opening 10 a of barrier insulating film 10. Nickel layer 17 b is formed to fill through hole 2 c, however, void 17 c is formed in through hole 2 c as illustrated for example in FIG. 3. Void 17 c is formed during conformal formation of nickel layer 17 b as deposition occurs increasingly near the opening in the upper portion of through hole 2 c, and thereby encloses through hole 2 c before filling its interior.

In the second embodiment, through electrode 17 employs a copper film having a thickness of 200 nm or greater as conductive layer 17 a in applications where semiconductor device 16 is driven under high frequencies. Thus, it is possible to suppress the magnetic skin effect and thereby inhibit resistance elevation caused by the use of magnetic material, in this case, nickel layer 17 b.

Further, in the second embodiment, copper film having a thickness of 200 nm or greater is used in conductive layer 17 a, which is thicker than the copper film used in conductive layer 11 a of the first embodiment. As described earlier, cooper is softer (has lower Young's modulus) than nickel and thus, the copper film, being thicker than in the first embodiment, achieves stress relaxation even more effectively as compared to the first embodiment.

THIRD EMBODIMENT

FIG. 4 illustrates semiconductor device 18 of a third, embodiment. The third embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that semiconductor device 13 is provided with through electrode 19 instead of through electrode 17. In the third embodiment, demagnetized nickel layer 19 b is employed as through electrode 19 in order to inhibit resistance elevation caused by the skin effect encountered when semiconductor device 18 is used under high frequency.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, through electrode 19 includes conductive layer 19 a which is formed of for example a barrier metal film and a seed metal film. One example of the barrier metal film, is a titanium (Ti) film. One example of the seed metal film is a copper (Cu) film. The thickness of conductive layer 19 a of the third embodiment may range from 3 nm to 200 nm as was the case in the first embodiment and preferably from 20 nm to 200 nm. As illustrated in FIG. 4, conductive layer 19 a extending along barrier insulating film 10 in the up and down direction further extends toward the second surface side from opening 10 a of barrier insulating film 10. The film structure of conductive layer 19 a may be similar to the film structure of conductive layer 17 a of the second embodiment.

In the inner side of conductive layer 19 a, nickel layer 19 b is filled so as to protrude upward along and above opening 10 a of barrier insulating film 10. Nickel layer 19 b is formed to fill through hole 2 c, however, void 19 c is formed in through hole 2 c as illustrated for example in FIG. 4. Void 19 c is formed during conformal formation of nickel layer 19 b as deposition occurs increasingly near the opening in the upper portion of through hole 2 c, and thereby encloses through hole 2 c before filling its interior.

Nickel layer 19 b is formed by plating nickel containing 5 wt % or more of nonmagnetic material, more preferably 8 wt % or more, so that at least the side contacting conductive layer 19 a located in the outer side of nickel layer 19 b is demagnetized. Examples of additives used for demagnetization include carbon (C), phosphorous (P), boron (B), aluminum (Al), molybdenum (Mo), and tungsten (W). In through electrode 19 configured as described above, the magnetic properties possessed by nickel of nickel layer 19 b is weakened. As a result, it is possible to inhibit resistance elevation caused by the skin effect, encountered during high-frequency operation.

FOURTH EMBODIMENT

FIG. 5 illustrates semiconductor device 20 of a fourth embodiment. The fourth embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that semiconductor device 20 is provided with through electrode 21 instead of through electrode 17. In the fourth embodiment, nickel layer 21 b is employed as through electrode 20 when semiconductor device 20 is used under high frequencies. Nickel layer 21 b includes a demagnetized fine grain layer 21 ba and nickel layer 21 bb provided in the inner side of fine grain layer 21 ba. As a result, resistance elevation caused by the skin effect in nickel layer 21 b is inhibited.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, through electrode 21 includes conductive layer 21 a which is formed, of for example a barrier metal film and a seed metal film. One example of the barrier metal film is a titanium (Ti) film. One example of the seed metal film is a copper (Cu) film. The thickness of conductive layer 21 a of the fourth embodiment may range from 3 nm to 200 nm as was the case in the first, embodiment and preferably from 20 nm to 200 nm. As illustrated in FIG. 5, conductive layer 21 a extending along barrier insulating film 10 in the up and down direction further extends toward the second surface side from opening 10 a of barrier insulating film 10. The film structure of conductive layer 21 a may be similar to the film structure of conductive layer 17 a of the second embodiment.

In the inner side of conductive layer 21 a, nickel layer 21 b is filled so as to protrude upward along and above opening 10 a of barrier insulating film 10. Nickel layer 21 b includes fine grain layer 21 ba and nickel layer 21 bb filled in the inner side of fine grain layer 21 ba. Fine grain layer 21 ba is formed in the portion contacting conductive layer 21 a located in its outer side. Nickel layer 21 b is formed to fill through hole 2 c, however, void 21 c is formed in through hole 2 c as illustrated for example in FIG. 5. Void 21 c is formed during conformal formation of nickel layer 21 b as deposition occurs increasingly near the opening in the upper portion of through hole 2 c, and thereby encloses through hole 2 c before filling its interior.

Nickel layer 21 b is formed by plating as was the case in the third embodiment with an exception that fine-grain layer 21 ba is formed as the initial layer. In forming fine-grain layer 21 ba, the diameters of the crystal grains are controlled to approximately 10 nm or less by performing the plating process using high-density electric current for example. The diameters of the fine crystal grains may be measured for example by tem (Transmission Electron Microscope). The level of magnetization of fine-grain layer 21 ba is weakened by arranging the orientations of the fine crystals to be random. Resistance elevation caused, by the skin effect is inhibited in the above described manner. The formation of fine-grain layer 21 ba is followed by the formation of nickel layer 21 bb using electric current of normal density whereby void 21 c is formed in nickel layer 21 bb. Nickel layer 21 bb may be formed by a plating process using electric current of normal density as described above or by using high-density electric current at higher formation rate. Thus, in through electrode 21 configured as described above, the magnetic properties possessed by nickel of nickel layer 21 b is weakened. As a result, it is possible to inhibit resistance elevation caused by the skin effect encountered during high-frequency operation.

MODIFIED EMBODIMENTS

The embodiments described above may be modified as follows.

Through electrodes 11, 17, 19, and 21 were described through examples of semiconductor devices 1, 16, 18, and 20 formed using the so-called via last approach in which the through electrode formation takes place toward the end of the wafer process. Alternatively, the through electrodes may be implemented in semiconductor devices formed using the so-called via first approach or the via middle approach.

Copper used as the seed metal in conductive layers 11 a, 17 a, 19 a, and 21 a may be replaced by other metals. Such alternative materials preferably exhibit Young's modulus less than Young's modulus of nickel used in nickel layers 11 b, 17 b, 19 b, and 21 b.

In case the adhesion of the seed metal to barrier insulating film 10 is good, the barrier metal need not be provided in conducive layers 11 a, 17 a, 19 a, and 21 a.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor substrate having a first surface and a second surface, the first surface being configured for formation of a semiconductor element; a through hole extending through the semiconductor substrate; and a through electrode disposed in the through hole, the through electrode including an insulating film disposed along a sidewall of the through hole, a conductive layer comprising a first material disposed along the insulating film, and an electrode layer comprising a second material filled inside the through hole over the conductive layer, the first material being softer than, the second material, the second material having a. melting point higher than a melting point of the first material, and the electrode layer including a void portion being closed near the second surface of the semiconductor substrate.
 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the second material comprises nickel and wherein the first material has Young's modulus less than Young's modulus of nickel.
 3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the first material comprises copper and wherein the second material has a melting point higher than a melting point of copper.
 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the conductive layer has a thickness ranging from 3 nm to 200 nm.
 5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the first material comprises copper and the second material comprises nickel.
 6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the conductive layer comprises a barrier metal film and a seed metal film.
 7. The device according to claim 6, wherein the barrier metal film comprises a titanium film.
 8. The device according to claim 6, wherein the seed metal film comprises a copper film.
 9. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a bump disposed above the through electrode so as to be located in a second surface side of the semiconductor substrate.
 10. The device according to claim 1, wherein the conductive layer has a thickness equal to or greater than 200 nm.
 11. The device according to claim 1, wherein the electrode layer includes a demagnetized layer at least in one side proximal to the conductive layer.
 12. The device according to claim 11, wherein the demagnetized layer of the electrode layer includes at least one nonmagnetic material.
 13. The device according to claim 11, wherein the demagnetized layer of the electrode layer is demagnetized by fine crystallization.
 14. The device according to claim 11, wherein the second material comprises nickel and the demagnetized layer comprises a demagnetized nickel.
 15. The device according to claim 14, wherein the demagnetized nickel includes at least one nonmagnetic material.
 16. The device according to claim 15, wherein the demagnetized nickel includes 5 wt % or more of the nonmagnetic material.
 17. The device according to claim 15, wherein the demagnetized nickel includes 8 wt % or more of the nonmagnetic material.
 18. The device according to claim 15, wherein the at least one nonmagnetic material is one or more materials selected from the group consisting of carbon, phosphorous, boron, aluminum, molybdenum, and tungsten.
 19. The device according to claim 14, wherein, the demagnetized layer comprises a demagnetized fine-grain layer.
 20. The device according to claim 19, wherein the demagnetized layer comprises a crystal grain having a crystal grain diameter of 10 nm or less. 